Jamie Carone
by Kaleidoscopic Panda Bear
Summary: This is just an experiment. A situational introduction for my OC, and for the record, no, she will not be paired up with any characters. No romance for OC's here. Stars Daryl and Glenn so far, and if continued, the rest of the group!


There was a loud crash and a small 'eeping' noise following in the silence; that was the first moment Daryl wondered if there was something a little more alive in the darkened store front with them.

"Christ, Glenn," the hunter whispered through barred teeth, "be more careful." His heart skipped a beat, and then another, until the scavenger finally whispered back, "I could tell you the same thing, considering it wasn't me."

Jesus, when had the kid gotten so snarky? Oh, right. Around the time he realized Daryl would rather be eaten alive than shoot him for being annoying. Daryl frowned – lightly, but still fondly – at the memory.

"Shut yer mouth, kid," he jokingly shot back, a tone of amusement in his voice. "No. Now, gimme the list and let's get this over with so we can get back to camp before dark." A noise of agreement sounded out of Daryl, the older man digging through his pockets to find said list as Glenn stepped towards him to look it over.

Only, when Glenn took a step forward, he stepped on a can of something and lost his footing. He fell backwards with a hard thump, and in the mostly silent store front, one could actually hear the breath being knocked out of the Korean's chest. And before Daryl could even think about helping him up, a giggle sounded from the other side of the room.

_A giggle._

Everything fell silent again, but with a tension so thick, Daryl could've sworn he was drowning in it. The hunter was staring intently at the area where the noise had come from, waiting to see if anything was moving. The only exit was behind him; whoever was there wasn't going anywhere.

Fortunately, Daryl didn't have to explain it to Glenn, because he had heard the laughter, too. The scavenger was sitting up, flashlight and gun in hand, both pointed at the area like Rick had taught them to do. And then, they caught it.

The flash of skin and the edge of a pink dress, a scared look and bloody fingers slamming the storage door shut. "What the fuck?" – "Another survivor?" They said it at the same time, Daryl racing for the door and Glenn giving him a path of light to see by.

Daryl tried the doorknob, and to his surprise, it was unlocked. It must not have had a lock on it at all, then, because surely the girl would have locked them out. The wooden door swung open slowly, heavily, Glenn immediately shining the flashlight around in the small storage room. The small, _empty_ room. Or so it seemed, at first.

Glenn let out a breath of air; maybe in pain, maybe in horror or shock, Daryl didn't know. All he knew was that both he and Glenn were either seeing shit, which was dangerous in the Z.A, or that girl, whoever she was, was fucking Houdini reincarnated. And then, a small movement of pink cloth in the back corner of the storage space.

There- you could hide, but hiding in a bright pink, poofy dress? Please. Daryl snorted in aggravation, creeping forward to the corner with his crossbow out in front of him. He wasn't planning on shooting the girl; pure habit forced him to keep his guard up.

The beam of light was guided down as Glenn kept tight to Daryl's side, waiting for the redneck it give him the OK to shine the light back into the corner. Before the two could reach it, though, a loud meow startled them both.

"Goddamnit…Bad, Mr. Kitty!" A female voice chided the cat quietly, and slowly, two empty hands were held up in surrender from behind the crate the girl was using for cover. There was a collective sigh of relief from Glenn and Daryl as they dropped out of their defensive positions, Glenn going ahead of Daryl, even as the hunter hissed out a warning.

Whatever the kid had been expecting, it hadn't been this. The girl was sitting there with an orange tabby cat in her lap, cradling it as if to protect. She was wearing a pink, slim fitting dress with leggings underneath, flats, and no jacket; her brown hair was cut short to her skull, but her bangs were longer, to the side, and she had blonde highlights everywhere that caught in the beam of the flashlight.

She didn't appear to have any weapons on her, but her hands were coated in dried blood, and on her wrists and upper arms, there were the faintest traces of bruises. She looked defeated, but her voice held no evidence of it.

"Ya' gonna stand and stare all day or are you gonna shoot me?" Glenn blinked rapidly, his mouth opening and closing like a fish as he stumbled to say something. Shock, Daryl finally decided. He pulled Glenn back and behind himself, stepping closer to the girl and offering his hand to her.

"We ain't that type, 'less you gonna go runnin' on back to yer group, rattin' us out n' shit. We got a group of our own to protect; can't be riskin' a fight or nothin'." The girl was just staring wide eyed at him, but finally, she took his hand and allowed herself to be pulled up. She set her back against the wall, the kitten squirming in her arms. It was a while before anyone said anything.

But then, "What happened to you?" Glenn asked, gesturing to the faded bruises and dried blood. The girl visibly shuddered and paled. "Nothin'. Don't matter." The scavenger shrugged a bit, looking up at Daryl as the hunter narrowed his eyes dangerously.

"You ain't bit, are you?" She shifted her weight a bit, shaking her head. "No, no bites. M'never even ran into a Zombie alone. Been lucky, I guess." Daryl relaxed slightly, taking her word for it and giving her the benefit of the doubt. For now, at least.

"Name?" Immediately, her lips quivered into a smirk. "Jesus, I didn't know we were playing Twenty Questions. Is it my turn yet?" Glenn laughed lightly, nervously, but Daryl just scowled and glared. Finally, the girl sighed.

"Fine, whatever," she said, pausing for a breath, "Name, Jamie, age, fifteen. Hometown, Flint, Michigan, and why am I so far away from home? Because my aunt lived in Atlanta and she wanted me to be in her wedding. Hence the obnoxious pink dress. You happy?" Jamie's glare rivaled Daryl's own, but the hunter backed down.

"Good 'nough fer now," he muttered while shrugging. He walked past Glenn, shifting his crossbow and taking the flashlight from his hand on his way past. "Damn," Jamie whispered, not moving, "Is he always like that?" Glenn nodded silently.

"Pretty much. He's a cool guy once you get to know him, but…he's tough. Daryl's certainly earned the right to be a dick, at least. Just know it's not for nothing." And then, as if a light bulb had popped on above the scavenger's head, Glenn said, "Oh, yeah, duh. He's Daryl, and I'm Glenn. Sorry about that," another nervous laugh left Glenn's mouth.

Then, he turned and said, "Really though, Jamie. You should head back to your group; there's safety in numbers, nowadays." Sadness entered the Korean's eyes as he began to follow Daryl's path, but her voice stopped him in his tracks. "I don't have a group to go back to," Glenn turned back to look at her, seeing all the uncertainty and fear in her expression, "I'm alone here."


End file.
